Quite Past Time
by EC-Chan
Summary: updated, chapter 3..Remus decides that perhaps the best thing for Harry is something Dumbledore not only cannot give him but should not give him. What happens when our favorite Professor finally decides to take Harry's future into his own hands? rr!
1. Cause

~

Title: Quite Past Time

Chapter 1: Cause

Author: EC-Chan

Disclaimer: Don't own it- not my characters, 

anything else you need to know?

~

Remus Lupin stared at his reflection for a long moment. It had been weeks since he had last stopped to take a look at himself in a mirror and longer since he had studied himself so intently. He most obviously wasn't a vain man, but that didn't stop himself from standing there, noting his red rimmed and heavily lidded gray eyes, messy hair which he didn't remember when he last decided to pull a comb through, and overall haggard appearance.

                    "Remus, I hate to say it but you look like a bloody mess," He said to himself in an emotionless voice, staring at his moving lips in detachment. Sighing heavily, he pulled himself away from the mirror, and regretted doing so half-way through the action but had no strength to stop mid act.

                    He could almost hear his mother's voice shooting through the shadows of his overrun heart, idiotically whispering into his ears while he recovered from each transformation, _'Everything will be alright Remus love, everything; just you wait and see. Everything will turn out all right. Life goes on love; it won't always be this bad.'_ Liar, he accused her bitterly, but to all honestly there was some truth to her words.

                    It had gotten better after all. After Dumbledore entered his life with that letter and he chuckled to himself ruefully as he fell against the door, enjoying scrapping against it until he teetered too much forward and was forced to stumble into the hallway. "Everything will be alright," He said, imitating his memory and laughing bitterly.

                    "Doubtless."

                    He almost missed the equally sarcastic reply, but thanks to his overly sensitive ears thanks to the Wolf he hadn't. The appearance of another human being quickly sobered the Werewolf and he hastily straightened, his pain quickly retreating to the depths of his eyes once again.

                    "I daresay, has the Professor been drinking?" Again the sarcasm and Remus noted blankly that the owner of the voice did indeed belong to the one and only Severus Snape, his one-time enemy. He smiled softly at this, bitterness now safely tucked away under his usual smile.

                    "Not at all Severus," he assured his one-time colleague. "Not at all. Is there a reason why you're invading my privacy?"

                    He thought he had asked politely enough, but the other man bristled. "Albus requested me to see why you were delayed for the meeting. You did remember the meeting of course?"

                    Remus frowned. "What time is it?"

                    "Half past two," came the immediate reply.

                    "Oh," was all he could say, though he was wondering where the last two hours had gone. Had he really been swimming in his self-pity for so long? "I suppose we should go then."

                    Snape eyed him for a moment in doubt, and then nodded. "Quite past time."

~

"Operation Timebomb," Hestia Jones finished, her chirp voice striking with a finality that left the other Order members staring at her in varying degrees of shock. She had just finished dictating to them a theory that seemed so implausible that they were all trying to decide how to let her down gently that Voldemort definitely was not stupid enough to think that he could alter space and time. That and he had no need to. "What?" She stared at them crossly.

                    "Thank you Hestia," Dumbledore said solemnly. "Does anyone else have any information that they feel they should bring to light?" 

It was common standard in the order to hear out all of the facts on a whole before discussing them. It kept everything in perspective more often then not, and at this time was something all felt equal relief over considering no one had any idea of how to refute Hestia's statement without setting the young woman off. No one dared to speak and after a moment Dumbledore nodded significantly at the middle of the table.

"There is one matter that I would like to discuss; Harry Potter," Dumbledore said as calmly as if he were throwing a bone into a fire. There was once again silence, but this time it was filled with unease. No one had yet dared bring the boy into this; he was after all still a child and it seemed unbearably cruel to place any hope at all in what the boy's future might bring. But the fact of the matter was that Voldemort was, if confined to one word, unmerciful. "And if no one has anything more to add, I'd like to start out the discussion."

                    It had been a long summer. Voldemort, having been unveiled to the Wizarding World, had been ruthlessly brutal. The Muggle torturing had begun once again in zeal, forcing aurors and the rest of the Ministry to work around the clock. Still the Dark Lord had the advantage, though for once they had some luck: it turned out he wanted more then just power this time around. Not that ensuring that he could never be overthrown again and his immortality were all that different from his previous goals.

                    "All of you know of the events last June," Dumbledore began, hearing no protests. "And how Harry Potter played a role in them."

                    There was a general consensus of murmurs.

                    "Forgive me Albus," it was Remus Lupin who spoke. "But I-."

                    "I know Remus," Albus said, his eyes and voice suddenly weary. "Believe me I know, but there is no choice. He's still a boy, but time cannot be bought." There was a finality in his voice that struck at the heart of the group. "It is time to retrieve him from his Aunt and Uncle's care. Past time I believe."

~

Remus Lupin would have stalked out of the meeting room like a child having a temper tantrum had he not spent the duration of his life in forced control of his emotions. Instead he settled on walking out of the room rather quickly, without a single glance at Dumbledore or any of the other members of the Order. He was just about to turn and head upstairs to the room he had been staying in for the last few months, but the sound of his name stopped him in his tracks.

                    "Remus?" It was Tonks, her flaming green hair set in vicarious spikes and her dark eyes fixated on him. He forced himself to smile softly at her, although there was a slight pain in his heart as he noticed her "Black features." She looked so much like him…. "What's wrong?"

                    _'Moony?' a voice from his memories echoed the younger Black. A voice that Remus had last heard in what seemed like ages ago, but in fact it had only been one year since it was he and not Tonks whom followed him out from an Order Meeting just like this one equally concerned if not more so. 'What's wrong?' He had asked that also and upon receiving no answer had frowned and said in a very unlike Sirius voice; 'Why don't you want to bring him here Moony? I know what those people do to him- hell- you know what they do to him!'_

                    "No, of course I want him here," Remus refuted his memories softly just as he once had and seeing Tonks' confused face, shook his head. "Of course I want Harry here," He clarified, but remembered when he had echoed that same line with less surety.

                    _'If you had seen him Moony; if you had just seen him when I offered to take him in!' The dark haired man had said pleadingly, his dark eyes boring into Remus' own. 'I didn't think he'd want to leave them. He grew up with them after all….but his eyes. They lit up so much. Remus- this shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have ended this way. How could things go so horribly wrong?'_

                    Remus took in a shaky breath, and suddenly saw Tonks staring at him with more then mild concern. "Remus?" She asked again. "Are you okay?"

                    "I'm fine," Remus assured her, but looked away, his eyes hovering on the empty spot where Sirius had once stood, so full of life….so adamant in his beliefs. "I-," He paused and then smiled gently. "I just need to talk to Dumbledore for a moment that's all."

                    "Remus- I didn't know Siri-," But Remus shook his head.

                    "You don't need to say anything," Remus said with a smile, and walked past her, retracing his steps back to the meeting room. He knew she was still staring at his back, more confused then ever, but he had no energy to explain.

                    Dumbledore was talking to Moody when he stepped back into the room. They both looked up when he arrived and Moody immediately grew silent, a thoughtful expression gracing his face. Dumbledore had turned to him and smiled warmly, however.

                    "Ah, Remus," He said. "Is there something that you would like to discuss?"

                    "Harry," Remus said quietly, summing everything up in one word.

                    "Of course," Dumbledore said easily, only the normal twinkling laughter absent from his eyes giving away their growing despair. "I understand Remus, that you would-."

                    "No," Remus cut Dumbledore off; already knowing the conclusion the Headmaster had jumped to. Remus had always been adamant in his beliefs when Sirius and he were discussing the boy in the past whether they were in an Order meeting or not. Remus did not like the idea of taking Harry out of the Dursley Household, though the Ancient House of Black had been as safe as it possibly could the year before. It was this and various other small disagreements that had kept the well being of Harry in perspective in Sirius' eyes when he was alive, but now….things had changed to say the least. What he believed in the best interest of Harry one of them.

"As you most likely know Albus, James and Lilly had very specific guidelines set in their will in Harry's concern. Sirius would be the foremost legal guardian, Peter the second, and I the third." Every word was costing Remus a great deal, but some things simply had to be spoken to be taken into affect no matter how unbearable. It was time to take matters into his own hands. "James would have trusted any of us with his life, you and Sirius above all. He trusted the Marauders with his son."

Dumbledore was eyeing him almost wearily now, realizing Remus' intention before it rolled off of Remus' own lips. Moody, still standing beside Dumbledore, was completely taken aback by not only the coldness in Remus' voice but also exactly what he was saying and moreover implying.

"The night you took Harry to the Dursleys, there was a full Moon," Remus said, his voice darkening. "Sirius had taken off, Peter no where to be found, Godric's Hollow complete rubble, and everyone thought _I_ was the spy. It was only logical for you to take the decision of Harry's future into your own hands. I admit I could have reversed it after everything had been 'sorted out,' but I was a Werewolf and James had thought I was a traitor. I trusted your judgment. I still do. Sirius and I had a talk before….the incident. We came to a decision, and I still feel it my duty to carry it out. You have no claim over Harry's future Albus; your focus is on how his life will affect the Wizarding World. As it should be. Neither of us have ever considered that you don't care for Harry," Remus waved away the automatic protest, although Dumbledore's lips hadn't even began to twitch a rebuttal. "We just think that it'd be best to consider what James and Lilly would have wanted. In that end, I'm taking him away. Harry Potter won't be going to Hogwarts this year."

There was silence. Dumbledore seemed not to know what to say and Moody looked utterly flabbergasted. "You can't be serious," He said, staring at Remus as if he had grown a second head. "Not with Voldemort on the offensive!"

"I agree with you Remus," Dumbldore said softly, his voice shaking slightly. Now Moody turned to stare at him incredulously. "James and Lilly are more then likely severely disappointed with the decisions I have made concerning Harry, but I've never once presumed-."

"It remains," Remus said, this costing him more then anything else. "That the decision of what would happen to Harry should never have been given to you. As I said before your focus should be on matters that concern the whole; they shouldn't be tainted. I'm simply sorry that I didn't do this before now. It remains, however, that Harry and I will be leaving this house and most likely Britain with or without your consent."

Dumbledore was silent, his ancient eyes ablaze with weariness. He sighed and leaned back, defeated. "What do you need?"

"I have everything," Remus said quietly. "Or more accurately I can get anything we need. Sirius left everything in Harry's custody and gave me his key. That alone should be more then sufficient."

"What do you plan to do Remus?" Moody growled. "You can't hide from Voldemort; no one ever could."

"I assure you I have my ways," Remus said, his eyes flickering briefly in defiance. "Albus; I'd never presume to know anything you know or even simply understand, but you of all people know how much I owe you. I'm sorry to do this, but I don't see any other way."

"No, you're right," Dumbledore said. "I never considered myself quite as objective as you seem to think in Harry's case, however. Your words make sense Remus and I admire your courage to try and explain. I do, however, have one request."

"You can't mean you're letting him….?!" But Moody couldn't seem to think of anything to say he was so flabbergasted.

"What is you request?" Remus prompted the Headmaster, ignoring Moody for the moment.

"Simply keep me posted," Dumbledore said, a little of his old sparkle returning to his eyes. "And keep Harry safe, of course."

Remus was immensely relieved. For a split second he had thought that the Headmaster would ask him to bring someone else along to act as the impartial party, merely conveying everything he and Harry did and said to the Headmaster. It was something that he had been expecting, but dreaded for two simple reasons. The first was because it would make things a million times more difficult in hiding from Voldemort where they were and the second being whomever represented the third party could easily betray them just as Peter had. Remus wasn't about to repeat that little mistake and it looked like Dumbledore wasn't either. Or he simply knew Remus was unwilling to, despite what loyalties he thought (or rather knew) he owed.

_'I'm worried about him Moony,' Sirius' dark eyes caught Remus' own gray, pleading with him to both hear him out and understand. 'I trust Dumbledore with my life and I'll go by any decision he makes except in Harry's case.'_

_'What do you mean?'_ He had asked, completely bewildered.

'Think about it Remus; if James and Lilly were alive….' His face was even paler then usual and drawn. Remus knew how much these words cost him. 'What would they want for Harry? Would they really allow him to face Voldemort not once but three times? He's still only a child- bloody hell he was eleven when he first saw the man! And before that….it's just all wrong!'

~

So…what do you think ^^? There's only going to be two more chapters, and I already have them done. If no one seems interested I'm going to simply take this down. I started writing this to do a weird little flashback thing with Remus and Sirius, but it ended up with a lot more Harry then I intended. But….oh well.

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	2. Effect

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Title: Quite Past Time

Chapter 2: Effect

Author: EC-Chan

Disclaimer: Don't own it- not my characters, 

anything else you need to know?

~

When Harry Potter carefully walked down the staircase in the middle of the night in his aunt and uncle's home, he was expecting to find two things; the first being complete and utter darkness excluding the light shining off of the lamplights outside pouring in through the window and the second simply a glass of warm milk. What he found was a scene he had not expected.

                Light flooded the entirety of the first floor of the Dursley house and Harry knew instantly, having been the one who had made sure they were all off before, that it was either the work of an extremely appalling burglar or Dudley had made it his mission in life to attempt to get even (in a rather pathetic way he might add) for his little scare the summer before. Neither option seemed feasible. 

Harry was just about to shrug the lights off and head for the kitchen as he had meant to do when coming downstairs, but a sudden sound stopped him. Someone or something was rummaging through the drawers, or at least that's what it sounded like. For a moment Harry wondered if Dobby had come to look for him at the Dursleys' as he had once before, but he doubted the House Elf would 'try to save his life again' after Harry had specifically asked him not to.

Pulling out his wand from his pocket, Harry inched carefully towards the kitchen door. Unsurprisingly the horrendous thief (if it _was_ a thief) had left the door open and Harry took a deep breath before daring to inch his head around the archway, his wand ready. A sudden shill passed through the boy-who-lived's body as he caught sight of the back of a man in a black robe. 

He was just about to jump through the doorway and demand an explanation when the man turned and Harry let out a sigh of relief. It was only Remus. But what was he doing rummaging through the cabinets at Harry's aunt and uncle's house in the middle of the night? Better yet what was he doing here at all? 

"Don't you have a better use for your time Professor?" Harry asked and despite his puzzlement a warm smile crossed his face.

"Good evening, Harry," Remus said, greeting him likewise, but didn't pause in his search for….well whatever it was he was searching for.

                Harry watched him for a moment, his confusion growing and then finally asked. "What _are_ you doing?"

                "Looking to see if these Muggles have anything useful," Remus said and then pushed the drawer in with unnecessary strength. "Which they don't I might add. How they cook anything decent is beyond me….unless they don't cook anything decent."

                Harry stared at the slightly perplexed Professor and wonder idly for a moment if he had gone temporarily insane. "Why?" He felt like he had regressed to when he was three again, asking the Dursley's why he didn't have parents or perhaps the question before that one:

_'Why does Duddy get presents and I don't?'_

_'Because he has parents boy, now shut up and watch.'_

                "Because we need supplies if we're going to go on the run of course," Remus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which, Harry supposed, it was….if someone had told them that they were 'going on the run' to begin with.

                "What are you talking about Professor?" Harry asked, now almost definitely sure his father's friend had gone insane.

                "I'll give you the details later," Remus said with a half wave-like motion. "Where's the pantry?"

~

Harry would have expected anyone but Remus Lupin. Sirius, yes, he could definitely picture Sirius breaking into his aunt and uncles' house in the dead of the night, carelessly turning all of the downstairs lights on and then stealing food, but Remus? Professor Lupin?! It just seemed incredibly wrong….

                "Professor," Harry tried again, but Lupin seemed not to hear him, his eyes searching the road meticulously, shifting the weight of his oversized backpack a bit as he went. Harry had seen earlier when the Professor was storing food in it that it had indeed seemed enchanted to hold an inordinate amount of items, but there also seemed to be some sort of limit because it _did_ seem to be getting fuller with ever item placed in. He surmised that the pack, which looked like it was originally intended to hold about three hundred pounds, would weigh double or even triple that amount at this point. Unless the Professor had placed a levity charm on it, which Harry assumed he had since he was able to carry it easily enough, but hadn't for a fact seen the spell being cast.

                This whole situation puzzled him. He wasn't exactly annoyed that Lupin didn't seem particularly keen on telling him what was going on besides the fact that they were now officially 'on the run'. A few days after his godfather's death Harry had made a promise with himself; he wouldn't go searching for trouble anymore. He wouldn't "play hero" as Hermione aptly put it. It was a lot harder then it seemed at first.

                He had wanted to keep his subscription to the Daily Prophet for example, but had decided against it, knowing it would only make him feel guilty about what was happening in the Wizarding World which was the start of the chain reaction he had promised himself would not happen anymore period. So he had forced himself to take long walks, hide in his books, and try not to think about what **might** be happening in the Wizarding and even Muggle World. He couldn't even allow himself to watch the Muggle news after a strange report of a mutilated corpse with no way of identifying the assailant.

                It wasn't as if he were turning his back on the world, per se. It had seemed like that to him at first, but later he realized that it was what he desperately needed; a break. A break from worry and most of all, all of the doubts….away from his guilt. And later after that he finally understood, as strange as this may seem, that it was a way of learning to trust the so-called adults; Dumbledore most of all. They knew what they were doing, or at least they would know more then him. They had lived through Voldemort once before, after all, and there was little or nothing he could do at this point. He would only make matters worse, as his last visit to the Ministry showed. It was better to trust them and be thankful for the reprieve, though he wouldn't have termed staying with the Dursleys' as such any time before now.

                Which was why he had followed Lupin out the door without protest, understanding that the Professor could most likely not talk about what was going on until they were somewhere he knew was safe. Harry had no idea where that was, and he was quite content in not knowing.

                Remus stopped abruptly, forcing Harry suddenly out of his reverie. Without explanation, the Professor dug through his robes to find his wand and held it out in front of him. Almost immediately a bus erupted seemingly out of nowhere. Taken aback, Harry could only follow the Professor onto the bus and watch as he paid their fare.

~

Remus wouldn't talk on the Knightbus excluding his few words to the driver, Ernie Prang, and conductor, Stan Shunpike. Both, of course, talked to Harry and he answered their questions as politely as possible, listening to their gossip with a smile. They didn't mention anything about Voldemort, for which he was eternally grateful. It seemed uncharacteristic of them both, but with Lupin staring them down with solemn eyes from the other bed, he could understand why Stan had finally retreated to talk to the other passengers.

                Harry knew that his father's one-time close friend was acting odd and it was starting to worry him. But before he could screw up enough courage to ask, despite the warnings going off in his head, the Knightbus stopped and Stan announced it was their stop; London.

                Remus led the way through Diagonally. He let Harry stop to admire the new Nimbus 2007, but beyond that they continued their endless walk to Gringotts, where Remus pulled out a key that looked much like Harry's own, and led him to a vault that was even fuller then the one Harry had inherited from his parents before he had taken the first of his school money out.

                "It's Sirius'," Remus said tonelessly, but his eyes glazed over nonetheless as he bent to scoop up a handful of Knuts, reaching into his pocket once again to acquire a bag to put them in. Back at the front desk instead of walking out the door and continue on their way as Harry had thought they would, Remus veered back to the front desk and asked for the money to be exchanged for Muggle money.

                Another alarm went off inside Harry's mind. Were they going to stay in the Muggle World? But why? He filed away these questions with the many others he had had today in the back of his head. Remus gave him a small smile as he nodded towards the door, his features oddly tense.

                They made their way back through Diagonally without stopping, and upon arriving back on the streets, Remus turned the opposite way Harry was used to going, and began to quicken his pace. On they walked throughout the night until Harry thought that his legs would fall off if he took another step forward, but he always would without a complaint and reveled in the fact that they had indeed stayed attached to his legs. After loosing all of the feeling in his feet, however, he thought it might be best to ask Lupin how much farther they would be going, but without warning the older man turned and made a beeline to a rather shabby looking hotel.

                Harry was too exhausted to complain when he found himself in a room with twin beds, a small bathroom, and the rather claustrophobic smell of undiluted smoke and beer. He simply flopped down on the nearest bed and slept, not even caring that it felt more like a wooden board then a mattress.

~

"Professor," Harry tried to ask the following morning as his stiff muscles cried for a nice long soak in a hot tub. He ignored them, instead focusing on the Werewolf. "May I ask you a question?"

                "Call me Remus Harry," He said immediately. "You'd best not call me Professor here….I'm afraid I may not be able to give you much of an answer to that question at the moment. You'd best keep it until we reach a few towns over."

                "Where are we going?" Harry asked anyway, his aching feet dulling his patience. "I know you can't say but I mean generally speaking. Are we going to meet someone? What's going on? Is it something to do with-."

                "Harry," There was a definite warning tone in his voice. "You'll get the whole story, I simply ask that you be a little more patient. I can say one thing, though, we're not going to be meeting up with anyone you know along the way and our destination is a bit undetermined. We have different objectives then last year."

                Harry frowned, not really understanding what the Professor meant. Sighing wearily, he got ready for another long day. But then if he couldn't trust Lupin to know what was best then maybe this summer hadn't been such a victory at all.         

~

Thank-you BamaRedneck, NyteShade, nomer, Lolua, Luna Moonglade, moo, HPdancerfan4, Lilly Black1, Renee, psalatino, Catiechan, RebelFalcon, AmyLupin1987, Unhealthily-Obsessed, Wonkywerewolf, and By Remy for reviewing!!!

I really wasn't expecting a lot of reviews for this story. I'm sorry that I can't write out thanks or anything in more detail. I am so incredibly tired and they only reason why I have the ability to post this is because it's already written ^.^; I may change the next and final chapter a lot, however, but I don't anticipate it taking that long because I have tomorrow off from school….so I think look for the last chappy Saturday/Sunday.

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	3. Solutions

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Title: Quite Past Time

Chapter 3: Solution 

Author: EC-Chan

Disclaimer: Don't own it- not my characters, 

anything else you need to know?

~

It had been roughly three weeks and Harry was still waiting on some of his answers. He had surmised the general gist of what was going on through Remus' uncharacteristically tight lips, but he had one fairly large question that he still could not figure out. Why?

                He understood that Remus had decided it was best that he did not go to Hogwarts this year and instead go from city to city, staying only a few nights in each, effectively hiding from Voldemort. He understood that Remus had felt that Grimmauld Place wasn't necessarily the safest place anymore (Harry was actually feeling something of the like himself), but Hogwarts was safe wasn't it? His aunt and uncles' had still been safe….right? Or did Remus know something Harry did not?

                Of course he did, Harry thought grimly to himself. Remus Lupin and the other members of the Order knew much more then Harry was ever deigned to know and he was the one whom would eventually have to face Voldemort himself! Pushing the sudden overwhelming feeling of bitterness aside, Harry took in a deep breath of fresh air, reveling in the fact that he was outside in the warm summer air, when in the other alternative location he would be tip-toeing around an old house, trying not to disturb Mrs. Black's picture.

                Harry smiled suddenly into the warm night air, his heart comparatively lighter then his previous thoughts. He had been bitter the year before, he reminded himself, and look where that had gotten him. He very much doubted, however, that anyone would begrudge him his resentment. He supposed it was the natural thing to feel, though he hated to justify it that way. With this thought in mind, Harry turned his thoughts forcefully away from the year before to the present.

                So he wouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts and he wasn't at Grimmauld Place. He didn't mind. As for his question why- well that was still valid. After all Remus wasn't a person able to go on the run without thinking through every possible consequence. Tonight they would have to find a place where he could stay during his transformations after all. He had as much as said so this morning.

                Harry didn't even know if the Professor had Wolfsbane or if he did how much he had. That fact could easily tell him how long the Professor planned to keep him on the run as it couldn't. They could, after all, go back to Snape and get more, but Harry highly doubted Remus would take that chance.

                Why did he think that this plan would work? How could it work, Harry wondered idly. There were so many ways they could be caught and if they were and Remus was with him….Harry didn't want to think about what they would do with him. He'd rather be back at Hogwarts worrying about when Voldemort would come for him for that fact alone.

~

Remus stared down at his report to Dumbledore with grim satisfaction. He finished it off, signing his name and folded it carefully before sealing it. It was the second one Fawkes had demanded of him, and the one-time Professor carefully picked up the feather and watched the letter vanish seemingly into thin air.

                More Wolfsbane potion would come with the next sending he knew, and he was forever grateful the Headmaster was willing to ask Snape to continue to make it for him. Not that he wasn't just as grateful that Snape placed old grudges aside and made them for him once a month either, though he was under no illusion that Snape didn't loath every second of the process.

                "Remus?" Remus turned to smile at his best friend's son, feeling a bit ashamed that he had yet to explain the situation to him properly. He simply could not risk "bugs" as Muggles aptly put them. Especially since the media had found out that Harry was missing (he had had to cancel his Daily Prophet prescription after that). Of course this all might sound a bit paranoid of him, but he wouldn't take any chances. Not after how the Marauder's last plan had gone so awry.

                "Yes Harry?" He asked. Sometime in the near future, however, he would have to talk to Harry about Sirius. About the will and his last requests. But that could all wait for later. Not too much later of course; a few days….after his transformation. The sounded about right.

                "Can I watch television?" The boy asked.

                Remus stared at him for moment and assured him a bit incredulously, "Of course Harry; you didn't have to ask."

                "Okay, thanks," Harry said brightly and went back to his bed and flicked on the television, his eyes more alight then they had been since Remus had first picked him up at the Dursleys'. Frowning, it took a moment for Remus to realize that Harry hadn't been watching television in the last few days (something he had found rather odd) because he had thought Remus wouldn't allow him to. It seemed stupid. More then stupid; why would Remus care? But judging from the look on Harry's face at the prospect of choosing his own channel he had more then thought he would; he had expected Remus to say no.

                "Such a simple thing," Remus said to himself quietly, aware that Harry had shot him a rather startled and confused glance. Remus also noted, almost painfully, that it wasn't a cartoon or some other childish show that Harry settled on, but a news station.

~

Harry watched the news diligently through the weather (something he and Remus never bothered to care about and had several mishaps because of that fact), noting that the day after the next would be thundershowers; a day they would most likely like to stay inside. It was the crime report, which he was interested in however, and his patience was rewarded fifteen minutes later when a newscaster came on with a particularly bewildered expression.

- And in out-breaking news the eleventh victim to this new chain of unprecedented murders was found in an alleyway eleven o'clock this morning. As the other ten victims, the body was found to have no cohesive cause of death. Identification of the body is still underway. In other news-

Harry stared at the television for a long time, not hearing anything else. He looked over at Remus to find that the Werewolf had either missed that report or was pretending he hadn't heard. Harry couldn't blame him if it was the latter. He definitely hadn't wanted to hear that.

                He flicked up a few channels, his skin still crawling on his back, but after a moment of just seeing the picture before moving on, he realized that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on it and turned it off, sending the room back into it's prior state of thick silence.

                It had to have been Voldemort. That thought stood particularly firm in his mind. Or some of the Death Eaters, he amended. He tried to think about something else, knowing that even if he had the slightest chance of figuring out what Voldemort was doing, it would do him no good.

                He could do nothing about it obviously. He was under Remus' watchful eye. For a moment Harry considered what he had just thought, frowning in concentration. A few minutes later, with a sinking feeling, Harry realized what the ultimate question he had to ask himself at this point in time was; what really stood in the way of him going to fight Voldemort?

                Hadn't he decided that he was as prepared for this as he would ever be? Of course that had been a mild statement in the past, and he could label it more bitterness then anything else. He hadn't meant that he would go and "play hero" again as Hermione aptly put it. In fact, he had meant the opposite. Throughout the last few months he had been waiting for Voldemort to come for him; an action that was meant to go against his very nature.

                But was it really Harry "playing hero" all these years? Was he really suffering from some sort of infliction that Hermione could immediately recognize and put into words and label wrong? Or had Hermione not been the real person to label it wrong? Had he just assumed that was what she meant because of the horrendous blotch on his part on the Sirius count?

                When it came down to it what Hermione thought or didn't think wasn't the issue. Whether she had defined this condition accurately or not wasn't the issue either. The fact of the matter was right or wrong, he had not only the responsibility but the duty to do what he could for the Wizarding and even Muggle world. Even if he made mistakes in the process, lost love ones….

                It wasn't about him. It wasn't about what he thought or didn't think. It wasn't about what others thought or didn't think. It was about Voldemort and the need to somehow defeat him. Harry had answered the calling ever since his first year at Hogwarts and there was no reason not to do so now. In fact, there was much more of a reason.

                "Taking a vacation," as he decided upon before, definitely was not the best thing he could have done.

 ~

Remus was startled out of his thoughts when the television was abruptly switched off. For a moment he watched Harry in interest, as he seemed to be thinking rather seriously. Sighing, Remus turned away, more then aware that Harry would not like it if he caught Remus staring. It was one thing that assured Remus that Harry was still a teenage boy.

                It wasn't until he realized that he was staring off into a semi-darkening sky and the pains of the transformation became a little more apparent that Remus stood up in shock, looking at his watch. Cursing, he said goodnight to Harry and rushed out of the hotel, hoping that he would make it to the cave in time.

                Although he usually could transform now practically anywhere as long as he took the Wolfsbane potion, Remus still found himself screaming through the transformation. Although he could always place a silencing charm on whatever room he was staying in, he knew that the Death Eaters could easily seek him out just by his suddenly dark presence. As least Voldemort could….and Remus knew this, of course, from personal experience.

                Transforming in a cave somewhere nowhere nearby would be the only thing he could do for Harry at a time like this. He hoped that it would be enough. In the end that was all that he could hope for; that he was doing the best thing for Harry as possible.

~

Harry smiled at the empty bed beside him, for once glad that Remus suffered from his affliction. The full moon gave him the chance to leave without a fight and what made it all the better was that Remus couldn't blame himself later. He would blame the wolf. Though Harry wasn't sure if that was any better then the Professor blaming himself.

                It was too late now for Harry to back down from his decision anyway, so he pushed the nagging thought beside and made sure that he had his wand. Giving one last appraising look around the room, he left, the door swinging softly shut behind him. 

For better or for worst, he would come face to face with Voldemort as soon as possible. This was the path he had chosen, and the best part about it was that when it all came down to it all of the people who sought to control his life and keep information from him had no way of affecting that decision and if they had they had gotten the result they hadn't intended. He wasn't in any way more prepared. If anything he was less.

~

Okay the ending is horrible I know *cries*. I'm sorry but I'm not going to change it. I didn't want this story to be anything more then me writing down whatever came to mind so it's no wonder that the ending doesn't tie this story together at all….I could go back and change so many things in this story but I've been writing so much for perfection lately that I needed this to be imperfect. I haven't changed anything that I wrote- I corrected a few grammatical statements so that anyone reading could understand what I was writing but that's about it. I know that there are still some sentences that don't make much sense and I know there's a lot of grammatical mistakes- it irks me more then it probably does you yet I refuse to correct them. *shrugs* It's hard to explain and I didn't think I would be but considering the ending *helpless shrug*

I just wanted to make two things clear, though, because I can't resist. The first is that Remus isn't thinking about Voldemort- that's the whole point of the first chapter. He's thinking about Harry's best interest, which you can say is surviving Voldemort, but Remus feels that he needs a break from his life as much as Harry does  *shrugs* Again my brain working out some very strange logic, but it's really my interpretation of Remus.

The second thing is that what I meant for Harry's role in this never exactly happened. I meant for him to think "take a break" because of Sirius and what Hermione said but later realize that he can't take a break and that he was really only trying to run away. In the end he was supposed to get pissed at the Order for keeping so much from him when they really shouldn't have and be pissed at Dumbledore for allowing his "love" for Harry *cough* rule over the need for Harry to know everything he could possibly know about Dumbledore…. 

I really can't explain my thoughts sorry and this explanation is really just me trying to get over the fact that I'm posting this and there's so many things wrong with it…. *shudders*

~

Thanks hermionegreen, NyteShade, Moongirl, Lilly Black1, and Katie for reviewing! I luv ya'll!

I'm semi-planning to write a really big thanks in the near future because I really don't deserve so many reviews and you're all so nice to me. Thanks so much, I'm tempted to post more of my stories on ff.net ^.^;

~


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